If you’re not watching The 100, then what is wrong with you? Do you not believe that you deserve happiness and joy in your life? The sixth season of The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had so many interesting parallels because our heroes in both these television shows were completely unstable and trying to coalesce after an earth shattering loss then had to face an enemy with a familiar face that they wanted to trust while struggling with identity issues of who they would be—as individuals and as a group—going forward.
The 100 had three overarching problems: how to truly become Wonkru in spirit and reality after an explosive conflict; the struggle for power over The Flame and the practical, ethical and interpersonal challenges of navigating their new home. These three problems are essentially one: will they do better or just make the same damn mistakes? Yes.
I really thought that The 100’s sixth season seamlessly blended religion and socioeconomic issues perfectly throughout each faction, and unlike prior seasons, a single side didn’t have a disproportionate amount of technology and expertise over the other, just differing areas so it was not obvious from the outset which faction would have the upper hand. Although Wonkru still has an uphill problem when it comes to morality, unlike the new factions that they encounter, because they know about the finality of some decisions, they are more resolved to not just act as if they can recklessly move on. For example, even simply in the treatment of religion, Wonkru has learned to care more about the people, not preserving the faith, when forced to choose, which is a dramatic difference compared to prior seasons even after the truth behind the Flame was revealed. One prevalent theme of almost every season since the second (I don’t think that it was in the first season) is the way that villains brainwash others and make them do their will or how they treat people outside of their group. This season felt like the worst to date regarding consequences.
The 100’s sixth season was definitely the most surreal of the entire series. While there were similarities with the Grounders, the Mountain Men, Skaikru, Diyoza’s group, direct parallels couldn’t be made so it never felt like a retread. Enough new features were introduced into the mythos of this story that it made this season unpredictable and will likely play a huge role next season. Like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The 100 seems to be exploring narratives involving time and other dimensions, but in an unpredictable, mysterious way that may not get as messy as the Marvel multi-universe appears to be on the threshold of being. Just please don’t pull a Lost’s Damon Lindehof and not give me any answers. I love the characters, but you better explain the weirdness!
The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gave its leads, Eliza Taylor and Clark Gregg respectively, a chance to really breakout of the everyday and explore their furthest corners. Even though it isn’t a competition, and I should be biased in favor of Gregg because I’ve been following his work for far longer, Taylor won. She even did the mama weak-kneed “not my baby” move. Other than one bit role in an awful movie, I’ve never seen Taylor’s work in anything other than The 100, but during the sixth season, Taylor made damn sure that we would all know that the fault did not lie with her. She basically put her acting chops on the table across from Meryl Streep and Tilda Swinton and said, “Challenge!” Taylor’s Clarke is one of the unquestionably strong characters in this series, and she managed to play, in essence, a date rape scene that did not undermine anything that came before, but only imbued her character with more texture and nuance without feeling exploitative or judgmental. I hope that after this show ends, she gets work that actually matches her ability, not her looks, because the industry sucks, and women usually only get great roles in sci fi and horror.
Octavia is still my favorite character in The 100. Her story arc may be the greatest character story arc of all time, and though we lost a great number of staple characters during the sixth season, I was completely fine with their loss because of how they did Octavia dirty by blaming her for either things that they encouraged her to do or what they did themselves. Unsurprisingly, introduce Octavia to a new environment, and she plunges right in, which is what I love above her character. Octavia’s openness to new experiences and letting go of whatever from the past does not serve her is what ultimately redeems her and insures her survival. She is still a bad ass. The sixth season did not have any memorable fights like the third (Lexa sword fighting) and fifth season (“You are Wonkru or you are the enemy of Wonkru. Choose!”), which are still my favorite fight season of the series, because it was more determined with depicting inner struggles.
Echo finally got some shine during the sixth season of The 100, and it was more devastating that you could imagine. It is even pointed out by Bellamy that everyone kind of takes Echo for granted, even him. Her character arc reminded me of Kevin’s from This Is Us. She is not alright though she is way more functional, but the only people that know are dead.
I was more impressed with one new villain who initially seems cool than the other one that seemed as if he emerged from a horror movie. They basically were doing the same thing, but accomplishing it in different ways with different goals, which was an evocative parallel; however I think that the prior was more effective and sinister because I don’t think that he thinks of himself as a bad guy ever. I think that both villains are still on the board for the seventh and final season of The 100. If I had to criticize the sixth season, I would complain that once the villains’ paths converged, it was so disappointing that it was so brief and rushed.
Unlike prior seasons, The 100’s sixth season did not leave me thinking how they were going to get out of this pickle. Even though it was a cliffhanger, it wasn’t an apocalyptic one like they usually are. It isn’t a complaint, simply an observation. As a viewer, I could feel that they are laying the tracks for a resolution and trying to be reassuring that the end will not be as brutal as what came before. They want to leave us with hope, literally and figuratively.
Two of my favorite shows are wrapping up, and I have no idea what I’ll do after the final, seventh season of The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but not many series get better with age so I would rather that they go out on top instead wishing that it ended while it was still good. Please don’t be Game of Thrones!
